Gangs of Time
by Kathryn the Katphish
Summary: AU--A history causes a village to go into an economic slump. With no ruler and born with a curse, a 'special race' brought up for the military decides to survive their own way, illegally. (Experimental)
1. Default Chapter

Story basics:

                **Pairings:** Undecided, but if there are any, it would first off be SasuNaru.

                **Warnings:** Eventual violence, and character death. Possible shounen ai/yaoi. Some swearing. 

                **Rating:** PG13

                **Disclaimer:** Own Naruto? Naw. I wish I could, but you see, I can't draw anime or speak fluent Japanese, so things just would not work out. Kishimoto Masashi can, so let's all leave it up to him to entertain us.

                **General:** AU – They are still ninja's and are grouped in their respective teams, but events are way off from the anime/manga. There're no Uchiha Massacre or Orochimaru happenings. Sorry, no Element-kage's either, but I'll try to incorporate the characters. Bits of OOC. (eg: Naruto is toned down a bit). Sasuke is still considered hot, but I am _not_ having squealing girls in my story, thank you very much. Strange things will become clear later on, hopefully ^.^;;; 

**Setting:** Kind of like Konoha Village. They have electricity and the such, but things are still rural. I have to decide some things and hopefully it won't seem like I'm trashing the village. I like Konoha, it's just…gonna be in a bit of trouble for a while.  

**Prologue**

History Lesson

Long ago, a man was a ruler by hierarchy. His nature was full of greed; only thoughts and plans of how he may obtain more filled his mind. He would start wars to conquer land, seize women, and add treasures and trinkets to a collection which he kept only for himself. His armies were immense, and with them, he ruled more than half the earth. Anyone who was caught opposing him would die, on site or as demonstration.

But one day, he realized his army, as powerful they were, were not good enough. Yes, if the enemy force had even one tenth as many people as his own army did, his ruling would have come to an end. The enemy he had encountered was special. From birth, they were able to manipulate the elements around them. Their strength, reflexes, speed, and intelligence were all beyond average. Simply put, they were geniuses.

In a gruesome, entertaining battle between the two armies, the man had won. With this, he decided fate had given him a chance. A chance to be stronger. And so, he round up all the surviving victims and brought them to his capital. There, he kept count of his captives, the numbers rising as he force-bred them. He let none of those people escape, threats of horrible degrees hanging over their heads. Hidden from the public eye, newborns were taken away from their mothers and trained for battle.

Gradually, there were three ways in which this race could see their situation. They could accept it, commit suicide, or hope for a freedom. 

Gradually, those three choices narrowed down to one. Accept it. Suicide was weak, and freedom seemed further away than a dream.

  
  


Hundreds of years later, the earth was divided into smaller kingdoms, the old ruler long passed away. But what was started did not stop. Trade was the newest thing. Auctions were high up in the business list too. The born fighters were fetching high prices, and soon, as property, they were traded and auctioned for. They were admired and disgusted by the publicans. Admired for their abilities and loyalty. Disgusted because they were heartless. They fought for whoever could afford them, and accepted it, killing friend or foe.         

One village had a certain man, also a ruler by hierarchy. Foolish. Scared. In his ignorance, he became obsessed with defending his position. He bought and traded for as many of these special people as he could with his inheritance. When he ran out, he took from the village. Taxes rose, and no amount of work could pay. 

In shame and embarrassment, the ruler left, never seen again. A group of people came to power, but their communist ideals could only last so long, and soon after, everyone was in a ditch once again. By then, those 'special' people seemed to have disappeared. Only a few knew where they were, who they were, and what went on out of site.

+                                              +                                              +

One 

"Saaaah! That was refreshing." A young woman with waist-length brown hair slammed an empty shot glass onto the bar table. The bartender looked at her, a little bit concerned.

"That is your fifth one, miss. Will you be okay?" He dried another glass and set it on a wire rack.

"Yup! It's been a hard week, so I got to have a drink and relax a while, you know?" The bartender merely nodded as she placed paper and metal onto the counter. "Thanks a bunch, ojiisan." She winked good-heartedly at the old man and began her way out. The bartender watched her leave, wondering to himself if it was possible to still be sober after five shots of hard whiskey. He shook his head. He'd just have to be amazed the next week she came, and probably every week after that for the rest of his life.

Once outside, the girl walked down towards the back alley of the bar she had just come out of. Hidden in the shadows with her movements drowned out by the happy drinkers inside, she interlaced her fingers and closed her eyes. 

"Kai!" A small puff of smoke came out of no where and by the time it had dissipated, a girl with rough-cut pink hair stood in place. She blinked green eyes as she forced any woozy feelings away. For a few seconds, she was completely still, listening and feeling for any possible unwanted people. Satisfied, she sighed. 

She started to walk her way out of the alley when her senses jumped, making her duck, turn around, and grab the wrist connected to hand currently fisted in place to where her brains would have been. Her other hand reached forwards in attempt to punch the stomach of her attacker, but it hit air as the target disappeared. She sensed the presence appear behind her and was too late to do anything before her right arm was twisted back. She was shoved into brick alley walls and cold metal was felt at the back of her neck. It all had taken a little more than a second.

"That was weak," commented the voice behind her.

"Your getting better at hiding your chakra," the girl tried to flatter. Her cheek was getting scratched from the brick.

"You could have detected me a mile from here. You could have at least put up a struggle if you weren't so _intoxicated_." There was a dangerous edge in the boy's voice. Angered, he flicked the girl harder into the wall before lettering her go. He watched as regained her balance and rubbed her shoulder. The girl glared at him.

"What I do in my own time does not concern you." She looked seriously into black eyes.

"What you're doing is stupid and irresponsible, Sakura. You're drunk!" he flared.

"Not really. My tolerance is actually really high," she commented with perk. She ignored the anger in the boy's voice.

"If I were anyone else, you would be dying in your own blood right now." 

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Save your breath, Sasuke," Sakura said dryly. She smoothed out her red Chinese dress with her hands, also getting rid of any dirt on her hands. "So, where's Naruto?" she asked.

"Back at the house." Sasuke turned and started walking, hearing Sakura's foot falls catching up to his. Once she was beside him, she turned her head and grinned.

"For someone so cold, you can be quite motherly." Her reply was a whap on the upside of her head, which made her smile. 

+                                              +                                              +

By lamplight, a boy at about fifteen sat hunched over a mess of papers on a rutty wood table. A rock was placed under one of the legs in compensation for missing length. It awkwardly lifted one end of the table up but effectively stopped the table from rocking back and forth. The seat he sat on was a simple stool, one foot placed behind a support bar, the other keeping himself from toppling over.  

A pencil hovered over the paper, writing briefly, only to stop again as the boy attempted to concentrate.

"Naruto!" a blob of pink giddily attached itself to Naruto's back in a hug. He turned his head to smile back at her. Her closed eyes and face-splitting grin alone told him she wasn't exactly in her right mind.

"Sakura, your drunk," he stated disappointedly. Sometime during the walk, Sakura stopped fighting off the symptoms of her drinking and had decided the world was interesting when it spun. It kept her entertained, never mind the consequences of a severe hang over the next morning. Sakura leaned closer into the hug, close to falling asleep in the warmth.

"Sakura, get off Naruto."  Sakura frowned after the words registered in her head. She let go of Naruto and let her hands hang at her sides. 

"My, my. Aren't we touchy of our property," Sakura slurred amusedly. Sasuke paid no acknowledgment to the insult in her remark. Naruto turned back to his work to hide a faint blush from the implication. Sakura moved towards stairs leading up to a second level, attempting to put full concentration into find the light switch. 

"Electricity has been cut. Didn't have enough for the month," cut in Naruto's voice.  The sound of someone tripping and the beginning of what would have been a long string of curse words turned bright blue eyes to Sakura's direction. In a flash, the raven-haired boy caught Sakura before she had the misfortune of splitting her head open. Both boys breathed out a sigh of relief. 

Indifferently, Sasuke carried Sakura bridal-style to the couch and unceremoniously dropped her. Her near-unconscious mind told her to scowl, which she did passionately. Sasuke turned into the kitchen to brew her some tea. Medicinal, if they had any left. 

"About how close are you to finishing those orders?" casually asked Sasuke.

"Almost done," replied Naruto's occupied voice as he wrote. The sound of the kitchen in work and Sakura's steady breathing gave Naruto the impression of a normal home, something he wished for. He closed his eyes for a second to absorb the sounds around him before continuing on with his work.

He could hear Sasuke's footsteps reenter the living room area, a cup of tea in hand. Sasuke woke Sakura up long enough for her to drink at least half the cup before her head dropped back down onto the couch cushions.

"She's out like a log," said Naruto, who felt her consciousness fade. "Here." Naruto spun around on the stool with the papers in hand to give to Sasuke, "done." The other boy walked over and took the papers and scanned them. With free arms, Naruto brushed bits of eraser off his black t-shirt and stretched his joints, popping some here and there. "I'm going to bed now." He checked his watch and was surprised to find out it was already past one in the morning. Naruto looked up to see Sasuke smirk.

"What?"

"You have to do the bottom quarter again." 

Naruto dropped his head in tired defeat. "Damn," he cursed under his breath. Sasuke put the papers back onto the desk Naruto had been working at.

"Kakashi is coming to get them tomorrow afternoon. You can finish them in the morning."

"Heh, he'll probably come during the evening, so I've got lots of time," smiled Naruto. "Kay. See ya in the morning." He waved a tired hand as he ascended the stairs.

Alone, aside from Sakura, Sasuke stood in his spot, looking back at the papers. _What are we getting ourselves into? Is this the only way to live?_ After a few moments, he went back into the kitchen and poured out the rest of the tea and washed the cup. He clicked off the old banker's lamp and quietly made his way to the curtainless window, letting the moon illuminate the living room and create silhouettes. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and looked at the thicket of trees he knew were surrounding the house in a protective shield. A small rat crawled by a bush where he, Sasuke, had previously seen a snake slither into, and was punctured by poisoned fangs in a blink of an eye. A terrified squeak sounded before the rat was knocked out. _I saw you,_ his mind commented,_ but I didn't help you. Life is like that._

Sasuke's eyes shifted to view the outline of a drawer unit beside him. Four polished, brown wood knobs reflected moonlight and were nailed smack in the center of each large drawer. He knew what were in those drawers. The bottom held scrolls, the middle two held various weapons, and the top contained three forehead protectors. Each was a cloth strip with a band of metal. The smooth metal was engraved to signify the wearer as part of the military, of course with special class and ranking. 

Unaware of his actions, Sasuke's left hand placed itself at the base of his neck where a mark lay, tracing it over and over with his index finger. A perfect black outline of a circle, separated into quarters by perpendicular lines. Although he was born with it, it had the appearance of a tattoo rather than a birthmark. No specialist, in tattoos or pigmentations, would be able to get rid of it. 

The mark was there for life.

---- 

So…how do u add html tags into this? Cuz when I tried the center tag, it had no effect. And I really want indenting . 


	2. Part Two

Two 

                It was an early spring morning, cold and windy despite the clear sky and unhindered sunlight. Ino took the keys out of her pocket and inserted it into the door lock to her flower shop, fiddling with it a bit before she heard the click of the mechanism. Inside, she flipped the store sign to say 'Open', the bells on the doorframe chiming with each movement. She peeled off her windbreaker jacket, bundled it up, and threw it carelessly into a lone chair, dragging tired feet as she went to a hook which held her apron. Fingers fumbled as they tried to tie a ribbon at the back, and Ino finally settled for a messy knot that would take ages to take out later. 

                The back of the store was had a small greenhouse, where Ino kept her flowers and other plants, routinely checking them everyday, although the shop was only open three days a week. The small front of the shop had potted flowers off to each side, in front of glass fridges containing even more flowers, creating a path straight to the counter where Ino would sit.

                The shop hadn't been hers originally. In fact, money hadn't even been involved in the switch of possession, and there was no paper stating that she and her team owned the building. But no one cared to own or put leases on rows of abandoned buildings: shops which had gone bankrupt or owners who decided to move due to a failing economy.

                Ino sat herself on a foldable wooden chair, counted the money in the cashier register, and placed an open magazine in front of her, hidden by an old gardener's book. She was ready for the workday ahead, preferably staying awake.

                By noontime, only a handful of customers had come in. 

                They would smile as they ordered and bought their flowers, saying it was for a loved one or to congratulate a friend. Some would pull out the coins in their pocket and bargain with her, wondering what they could get with the money they had. Ino would put on a smile too, helping the customers as they needed, thanking them, and wishing the customers the best of anything. She would give them tips on caring for or drying out their flowers, and she knew flower language like a spider knowing to spin a web, as if it was natural. Skills and dedication, some might say. Memory and facts was all it was to Ino.

                At 12:30, it was lunch break. Immediately, Ino hopped off her chair and went to the front door to switch the shop sign to 'Closed', using the attached plastic clock to show she would be back at 1:30. she opened the cashier register and pulled out a few hundred yen for her lunch and made her way to the back to retrieve her jacket. The consequences of creating the messy knot kept her a few minutes, and by the time she had freed herself, the familiar tinkling of the hanging doorbells floated into the backroom. She looked back at her apron and the matching, heavily crinkled cloth ties. Curse this, she thought, and curse those who can't read a damn sign! She was not about to put on that apron even one more time than necessary in a day. At times like these, she really questioned the reason she kept this shop. It was becoming more like a burden than a source of luxury.

                Ino shrugged on her jacket, not caring about her shopkeeper appearance, and turned her direction to the front, reluctant on facing another client when all she wanted to do was eat and sleep. She walked out and stood beside her counter, a lanky boy in her line of vision, whose brown eyes darted around seemingly nervousness.

                "Hi," Ino started politely, "I'm just about to go for lunch. Would you mind coming back in an hour or so?"

                "I—I'll be quick! I promise. I just," the boy stammered, "I just have to get some flowers for someone." He watched her, waiting for an answer. Inwardly, Ino cringed. He looked like he could cry if she said no. She sighed softly and gave in, pasting on a professional smile and artfully hiding her annoyance.

                "Alright," she said. "Who are you getting them for? A special girl? Family?"

                "Actually, I'm here to pick up roses," he informed her. "A dozen, I think." He reached into his pocket and brought out a slip of paper and handed it to her. Ino took it and scanned it over. She smiled, almost triumphantly.

                "I have what you're looking for. They just cam in the other day." She took a pen and signed her name on the slip of paper and gave it back to the boy. "Wait here. I'll go get them for you." She disappeared to the back, only to reappear with twelve deep-red roses in her arms, green water-capsule fixed onto each stem. 

                "Would you like them wrapped?"

                He nodded his head enthusiastically. Brown locks fell over his face as he watched her hands skillfully wrap the roses in cellophane and coloured tissues, lastly tying hemp string around it with precision. She presented the bouquet to him, which he took gratefully. The boy shifted the roses into one arm and held out an envelope in the other.

                "I was told this would be your payment." He placed it on the counter and slid it towards her. He smiled. "Don't do anything stupid." He thanked her, and left the shop.

                When the sound of the boy's footsteps faded out of hearing], the kind smile Ino had worn changed into a knowing smirk. She grabbed the envelope and untucked the flap. The feel of valuable textured paper under her fingers was heaven. She took out the thick stack and counted. 

                ¥6,000,000 exact was the total. (AN: ~56k US, ~72k Can)

                From that, she removed ¥200,000 and deposited it into another envelope and slipped it into the inside pocket of her jacket. Her share. 

                Ino took the original envelope and licked and sealed it. In her nicest writing, she wrote 'Congratulations' on the front. Next, she put together a simple bouquet of spring flowers and wrapped it, taping the envelope to the cellophane. She folded a cardboard box into shape and placed in the bouquet, cushioning the sides with Styrofoam fill. After closing the box with a clear sealing tape, she filled out an address form and stuck it on. She took a step back to study her handiwork, and grinned.

                _Ah yes, this is the reason I have this shop. _She picked up the box and walked out the door to the post office, the bells chiming happily behind her.

                "It's just like the old days," the old postman said. He stamped 'Fragile' and 'This way up' onto the box and continued talking. "Flowers were a main attraction in this village. It's wonderful that a young girl like you has decided to continue it." He had to admit, since she had started her shop, his business had improved with all the flower delivers she made. He smiled at Ino, who was sitting in her regular spot on a chair at the desk, her chin cradled in the palm of her hand. "You must be getting real rich."

                Ino nodded and hummed in agreement. "The profits are a lot better than I expected." She got off the chair and headed out the door, waving over her shoulder. "Have a good day."

                The sun was setting. A short girl with blue-purple eyes silently walked down steps leading below ground level and glanced over her shoulder every so often in case of followers. Her mind kept track of the number of steps she took; it was a safety caution if she was inhibited from seeing her pathway. Once at the bottom, she stood facing a wooden door painted slate grey, a strange attempted to make the warped wood look metal.

                Hesitantly, she curled her hand into a loose fist and knocked, quickly, but in a pattern. The muffled movements of feet warned the girl to move back, unless she was willing to receive a cracked nose from the outwards swing of the door. The girl cast her eyes to the side and chewed her lip. She was late. She hated being late, and she hoped no one would be mad at her. She hated it when people were mad at her too.

                The door opened a sliver, then widened enough to let the recognized guest enter. The boy with shaded glasses on the other side of the door gave a curt nod and left it open for her. She ducked through and followed the boy, pushing the door with the heel of her foot to close it. The girl took a turn and immediately entered a doorless room. Situated inside was a single light bulb dangling from the center of the ceiling over a round table where two people, a woman and a boy, were already sitting.      

                "You're late, Hinata," the woman said sternly. The boy who had let her in took a seat in one of the two unoccupied chaired. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and bowed.

                "Gomen nasai!" she said desperately. In the back of her mind, she wondered that if she was late enough times, she would be thrown out of the group. Or she would be forced to clean people's shoes and weaponry like in the _ninja_ school, keeping someone weak like her out of the way of 'others who want to attain their goals'. Maybe she would be beaten too. Other outrageous thoughts flitted through her head before she forced herself to quell them. _Kurenai-sensei would never do that_.

                When silence met her, she opened her eyes and uncertainly looked up. Kurenai looked at her in the eye, assessing her. Then, she smiled, a simple quirk of the lips, which stated 'you-are-forgiven'. Hinata let out a breath she did not realize she held, and smiled back. She straightened and fixed herself and took seat in the last foldable chair. 

                "New contacts?" Kurenai changed topics conversationally. a second passed before the subject clicked in Hinata's mind. She gave a nod and blushed. Her contacts were coloured and this time matched the shade of her hair. The pupil was black, but it worked something like a one-way mirror. Using contacts was a lot easier than keeping a _henge_ nearly 24/7 to hide white eyes that screamed _shinobi_.

                "Well, let's start the meeting," Kurenai turned to the boy with the glasses, Shino, and crossed her arms and leaned back into her chair.

                Shino stood up, pulled out a scroll from his coat, and unraveled it onto the tabletop. The scroll contained the schematics diagram for a house. By measurements, the house was small and simple. A bungalow, one level. But its seemingly poor size was deceiving, as its occupant was a stingy old man who gave nothing to the village and kept whatever he had for himself and bought everything on discount. A penny-saver. And a paranoid.

                The diagram was courtesy of Shino and his bugs working in arms.  As it had been for the last two years or so, Shino's bugs would make themselves at home in the victim-to-be's house and collect data, reporting it back to their owner to draw out quite accurately. 

                An eye-catching blue 'X' told of where the safe in the house was. Good, a safe meant riches were concentrated into one area. 

                "The lock is a 5-number combination, but it's pretty basic." He turned to nod at Hinata. He continued on his explanation.

                "The stairs and wood flooring creek loudly here." He circled a few areas with his index finger. "Stepping there would easily alert anyone in the house." Then, he pointed to the windows closest to the safe and further away from the most frequented rooms. "No one opens these. There are traps attached to them." Figures, they all thought, amateurs would try the most direct route. Unfortunately now, all the routes that were left were front windows that were painfully easy to see, or a kitchen door on the side of house.

                "We _could_ take the same house route he does, since there aren't any traps the way he goes. That would also be unexpected for him," Shino offered. His voice indicated there was more to be said. "Then again, Akamaru watched the daily routines of the man and the housekeeper." Shino turned to nod at Kiba.

                Kiba continued for Shino, who sat down. "The housekeeper arrives in the morning around 7 o'clock and leaves by five, every day except Sundays. Old man here goes off every evening doing who knows what for an hour or so, comes home, checks his safe, and goes to bed." He smirked. The meaning was clear: attack when no one is home. A simple in and out robbery.

                This was probably one of the easiest burglaries they've had.

                "Do we smash the windows and break the door? Or should we leave it for the grinch to have a heart failure from surprise?" asked Kiba with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

                _Heart failure. _"I think we should—um, leave everything as it is," opinioned Hinata. Three eyes shifted in her direction, which caused her to duck her head and blush.

                "I second that," said Kiba's voice. Kurenai and Shino just nodded their heads.

                "So," cut in Shino. "Kiba will keep guard. I'll pick the locks, and Hinata will open the safe. Got it?" His teammates nodded. "Two nights from now, 8 o'clock." Another nod from each person confirmed it a yes.

                Kurenai sat in the background and watched her students taking charge of the meeting, and smiled a small smile. They were growing up. "Good. Let's dip into our funds."

                On another side of town, Team 7 sat in their living room. Rather, one napped, another one was leaning against the wall, and the last one was sitting on the couch and fighting heavy lids. The battery-operated lamp was close to needing replacements, and the temperature was cold from the lack of electric heating. 

                Team 7 had been waiting for hours, and finally, unable to go out anywhere in case of missing the person, they had run out of things to do around the house and collapsed together in the living room. Minutes more passed and the napping blond woke up, grudgingly rubbing his eyes and scowled at the fact he, Sasuke, and Sakura were _still_ waiting for the god damned late sensei.  

                Suddenly, a dark blur and a slice of gray whizzed through a somehow opened window and settled itself in the middle of the room. Instantly, they recognized the figure.

                "YOU!" Naruto and Sakura pointed their fingers accusingly at the intruder in unison. "_YOU_ ARE _LATE!!_"

                "aaa…konnichiwa," the man scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously.

                " 'konnichiwa'? Dammit!" Sakura told off, "It's practically the next day!"

                "Well, you see…there was this pregnant woman and--"

                "LIAR!" 

----

Erp…so yeah, the chapters are kinda short ^^;;  and I can't really do creative writing..so I have a deficiency in this area (La la la la la)  Things might be moving really fast because I can't think of many in-between scenes to add.  

Thnx for those who reviewd (or even just read)! It was, and is, very much appreciated. =D

Konnichiwa = a greeting to say in the afternoon time, often between 12 and 5pm (= good afternoon/good day.)


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